This invention relates generally to managing expenses and, more particularly, to network-based methods and systems for managing and approving legal expenses related to loan transactions.
Legal fees incurred due to loan transactions typically are charged by lenders to borrowers as part of the cost of the loan. Such legal fees include, for example, the expenses associated with obtaining a legal opinion from a law firm with respect to assets to be utilized as collateral in securing the loan. One lender may utilize multiple law firms, and any one of such firms may provide multiple opinions for many different loans.
There is no known consistent and reliable process for tracking legal expenses related to loan transactions. As a consequence, lenders find it difficult to determine if legal expenses are higher than they should have been or have been on past transactions. Without this information, lenders have difficulty in managing the costs associated with securing opinions and other work performed by law firms.